3 Vikings players that could doom the team’s 2020 playoff hopes

K.J. Osborn – PR/WR

When the Vikings decided to use a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on former Miami wide receiver K.J. Osborn, the hope was that he would emerge as the team’s next exciting return specialist.

So far this season, Osborn has been anything but exciting. He hasn’t played a single snap on offense for the Vikings this year and he’s averaging under four yards per punt return. He used to return kickoffs for Minnesota earlier in the season, but Ameer Abdullah has taken over those duties during the last few games.

During his last two appearances for the Vikings (Week 11 and Week 13), Osborn fumbled twice while fielding punts. Luckily for him, neither of his two fumbles were recovered by Minnesota’s opponent.

A muffed punt return (by Chad Beebe) is something that almost cost the Vikings a win in Week 12. If Osborn continues to cough up the football this season, it could potentially result in easy points for the opposing team.

Giving away points is not something Minnesota can afford to do during the next four weeks, so Osborn better put some extra Stickum on his hands for the rest of the year to avoid a costly fumble.